First-term councillor Tamatha Paul considering run for Wellington mayoralty
Tuesday, 1 September 2020
First-term councillor Tamatha Paul is poised to make a run for Wellington’s mayoral chains.
The 23-year-old said she was considering challenging incumbent Andy Foster, who had endured a torrid first term so far and was reportedly already planning for the 2022 election.
Paul told Stuff on Tuesday that a run for the mayoralty was “definitely something that I’m thinking about”.
However, she said she had been frustrated during the past year at realising the lack of power the council had to make significant changes, so was unsure if a run for mayor would make any difference.
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**
“It frustrates me how little resource and decision-making power we have to deliver for Wellingtonians in areas like climate change, housing and transport.
“There are more ambitious and aspirational things I wanted to be able to do on the council.”
A source close to the council said Foster met with his campaign manager on Tuesday to discuss the 2022 election.
However, Foster said although he did meet with members of his previous campaign, in which he defeated incumbent Justin Lester by a narrow margin, he denied it was to discuss election strategies.
“If you’ve had people who have helped on campaigns, I think you are allowed to see them.”
He said it was “far too far away” to be planning for an election, and he was focused on his current job as mayor.
Paul has previously spoken out against Foster, challenging the mayor’s assertion that councillors should not talk publicly about topics discussed in private workshops.
That came about after Paul divulged information about plans to increase hourly parking rates or introduce night-time parking charges.
Then in April, Paul successfully pushed for money set aside in Foster’s $7.6 million economic recovery fund to be redirected towards job creation rather than events.
Paul also got into a spat with fellow councillor Diane Calvert in the same month, accusing Calvert of bullying her during a council meeting.
Calvert, who ran for mayor in 2019 and finished third, joked on Twitter on Tuesday that she had offered Paul a position as her deputy.
Calvert said she was focused on her role as a councillor and the mayoralty was “the last of my thoughts”.
Jenny Condie, the fourth-placed finisher in 2019, was also considering another run. “Sure, I’ve always got my options open.”
Condie was enjoying her role as councillor and said the mayoralty would give her more opportunity to shape the city.
However, she noted that campaigns were “blimming hard work” and the election was still two years away.
Fellow councillor Rebecca Matthews had high praise for Paul when spoken to by Stuff.
“I think Tam is doing a great job. It’d be good to have a diverse range of options … We’ve got some really great councillors showing leadership in different ways,” Matthews said.
She wouldn’t comment on Foster’s re-election chances but said Wellingtonians would want to see progress on major issues, such as the central library, Let’s Get Wellington Moving and climate change.
“Wellingtonians are looking on us to deliver, and Andy is well aware of that,” she said.
Matthews ruled out a run for the Mayoral chains herself, saying “God no, no, definitely not, no, not ever”.
There have also been several reports Rongotai Labour MP and former deputy mayor Paul Eagle was considering a mayoral run. However, when approached by Stuff on Tuesday, Eagle said he had no current plans to run for mayor.